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Jasmine
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I stepped into the foyer and immediately smelled grease from frying chicken. How the hell am I going to say no to that? “Hey baby,” I said, greeting Toni, my girlfriend for the past decade, with feigned enthusiasm. Peaks and valleys are common in all relationships. Unfortunately, we had been monotonously settled in a valley for the past five or six years.
“Hey yourself,” Toni said, switching from one of those mindless talk shows where everyone ends up throwing chairs to the evening news. Toni started taking chicken out of the heavy iron pan. “I only made a few since you said you were having salad,” Toni said.
“I thought we were having salad for dinner,” I replied.
“Uh, uhn, I ain’t on no damn diet! How come every time you go on a diet, me and Coco gotta suffer?” Toni sarcastically commented. “Besides, I don’t have a problem, I’m fine already,” she boasted as she slid her hands over her athletic torso.
I just sighed. “Thanks for the support,” I mumbled as I left the kitchen. Coco stayed behind, hoping something would fall from the kitchen counter. I walked to the bedroom to change. I paused, looked out the hall window and saw the neighborhood children getting started early on summer fireworks. The red, orange, and yellow glow reminded me of the colors of the sunset at the harbor.
When I got to the bedroom, I slowly took off my sweaty clothes, took a shower, and changed into an oversized T-shirt and pajama bottoms giving me time to think about my new friend and our conversation. Hmmm, she was slightly taller than me, toned body, medium brown complexion, dreads—which I don’t usually care for, but she wore them well—very nice smile until she became conscious that she was smiling, and an ass for life. And those eyes, those piercing eyes, were a shade of brown, not hazel, but not brown brown, or dark brown either. As the sun and clouds transitioned across the sky while I sat next to her, I swore her eyes changed colors, but I couldn’t be certain. The conversation had definitely generated a spark, and that made me giggle.
Wait! What was her name? I wondered and smiled.